Bumblestripe's Visitor
by Empress Tansy
Summary: After Dovewing breaks up with Bumblestripe, his heart shatters and he can't believe he's lost his one true love. When a strange gray cat visits him in his dreams, there's no telling how he will react. Will Bumblestripe want revenge, or does he love Dovewing enough to let her be happy?


_**(A/N: Now, know I am strictly a SquirrelxBramble shipper, and a fan of Ashfur. Know I also do not ship Dovewing with anyone. I just thought this would make a good little story.)**_

I stared desperately after the pale gray she-cat, watching her pad away from me while my heart shattered into a thousand pieces. This was the she-cat I loved with every fiber of my being. How could she just break my heart?

"It's not you; it's me," she said.

"I just can't handle life right now," she said.

"I'm just not ready for a relationship," she said.

I thought Dovewing loved me. I thought we were meant to be together. She and I were so happy together. We went on patrols and shared squirrels and talked all through the night. Graystripe asked me when the grandkits were coming. Millie asked me when the grandkits were coming. The whole Clan expected Dovewing and me to have kits and be this perfect family forever and always. Now that was all gone, and I'm left wondering where all that love we once shared had disappeared to.

Shaking my head sadly, I turned away from my Clanmates. I couldn't bear to see their pained expressions. I couldn't bear to hear their sympathetic murmurs. I just wanted to go to sleep and wake up to find it was only a dream. Check that- only a nightmare. I'm sure in the morning everything will be alright. The sun will be shining and Dovewing will wake me up by brushing her soft tail over my face and we'll share a mouse before heading out of camp to patrol the WindClan border. Everything will be back to normal in the morning.

Silently, I pushed into the warriors' den. Thankfully, no one else was there. If anyone had been in the den, especially my parents or littermates, I just don't think I'd be able to bear their chatter. Sadly, I settled into my nest. I curled into a tight ball, burying my face into my paws. I became less of a cat and more of a pale lump with black stripes. I didn't feel like a cat anymore, anyway. Feeling drained by the rejection, I closed my eyes, ready to escape the world.

"Bumblestripe…" an ominous voice called, echoing through the vast nothingness.

My eyes shot open, seeing a pale gray tom with darker flecks standing before me. I didn't recognize the cat. Confused, my mouth hung open, no words coming out.

The gray cat blinked his round blue eyes sympathetically. "You've had a bad day, haven't you?"

I tipped my head to one side, still wondering who this cat was. "How…how did you know?"

"I see everything," he responded, sitting down on the soft green dream-grass and running a paw over his ear, smoothing a tuft of ruffled fur.

"Are you a StarClan cat?" I asked.

The gray tom flicked his tail. "Of course," he meowed. "Why would I be anywhere else?"

"There's a Dark Forest," I muttered.

"Well, we certainly aren't there," he replied, narrowing his eyes.

The feelings of confusion grew stronger and stronger as I stared at this strange cat. "Who are you?"

"Names aren't important."

"Why did you visit my dream?"

The gray tom unsheathed his claws, digging them into the ground and pulling up shreds of grass. "Because I know how you're feeling."

Surprise rippled through me as he answered. "Your heart was shattered into oblivion by a she-cat you thought you were destined to be with forever?"

"Yes," he meowed simply.

I sighed with relief. This cat understood. "I thought Dovewing was the one," I mewed.

"I thought I had found the one," the gray tom meowed, his voice growing harder, "but she broke up with me. Her former mate had turned into a jerk. He treated her like crowfood, and she still went back to him! I don't know what I did to deserve that. I'd been nothing but kind to her!"

I flicked my tail sympathetically. "Dovewing said she has issues she needs to work out. Honestly, I don't think she's over that ShadowClan cat."

"So she broke your heart," the StarClan cat hissed. "She-cats are all the same. They're the crowfood- leading toms on and playing with their emotions! Leaving them with broken hearts without a care!"

"Yes!" I agreed. "That's exactly how I feel!"

The gray tom's eyes glowed with pleasure. "I was hoping you'd say that. There's a way to fix this, you know. You can make yourself feel better."

"How?" I demanded.

"Get revenge," he growled. "Make her feel the pain she caused you!"

I blinked, shocked to hear the fury in the tom's voice. "Get revenge? I don't want to hurt Dovewing!"

The cat shook his head madly. "Oh, you don't have to hurt _her_. You have to hurt everyone she loves!"

"I'd never hurt another cat without good reason!" I cried, not believing the words I was hearing.

"You have a good reason! You have the best reason!" The tom was now ripping grass out of the ground in clumps, leaving bare dirt scarred by his hooked claws. "Dovewing is the villain here! You need to punish her for what she did to you! Take away what she loves the most! Kill Whitewing. Kill Birchfall. Kill Ivypool, Lionblaze, and Jayfeather. Heck, cross the ShadowClan border and kill Tigerheart! Do whatever it takes to ruin her life!"

I leaped to my paws, furious that this tom suggested I kill innocent cats. "I would never do that!" I hissed. "They haven't done anything wrong!"

The gray tom heaved himself up and thrust his face into mine, blowing rotten breath into my watering eyes. "They are friends with _her_. They support her decision. They deserve to die!"

"No!" I spat. "I'll never kill an innocent cat!"

"Then prepare for a miserable life!" he snarled. "Watch her grow close to another tom. Watch her bear his kits. Watch them raise those kits into strong apprentices. Just you watch- Bramblestar will even make you mentor one of them! Watch them have the happy life you never had!"

I recoiled at the fierceness of his tone. "I'd rather be miserable forever if it means Dovewing is happy!"

The tom's eyes blue eyes widened, shock brimming in the round orbs. "You still care about her? After what she did to you?"

"Yes," I snapped. "My love hasn't died just because hers has. I will always love her."

"Then you're weak," he spat. "I was strong. I didn't let love blind me. I tried to get even. I conspired with a RiverClan cat to kill Firestar! I tried to let Lionblaze, Jayfeather, and Hollyleaf roast in a fire! I wanted Squirrelflight to suffer!"

Recognition sparked in my mind as he revealed his past. "You're Ashfur!" I cried, not believing that a cat this rage-filled was in StarClan.

"Of course I'm Ashfur," he growled. "And you're Bumblestripe- a pathetic excuse for a cat. You are blinded by love and are shadowed by weakness. Enjoy your pathetic life, mangy lump!"

I watched in amazement and horror as he spun around and stalked away. Feeling a surge of courage, I raced after him and bowled him over, knocking him onto his side. Standing over him, I stared down at the psychotic warrior. "I'm not the weak one," I snarled. "You are. You were so blinded by anger that you couldn't see that Squirrelflight was happy. If you had ever truly loved her, that's what you would have wanted for her. Instead you let your rage bottle up inside of you until it consumed your thoughts. You are the pathetic excuse for a cat. Don't you ever tell me to destroy the life of the one I love."

I whipped around and marched away, aware that Ashfur was staring after me in shock. Lashing my tail, I ignored the insults he hurled after me. I didn't care what he said. I didn't care what anyone said. I would never hurt an innocent cat. I still loved Dovewing, and that was all that mattered.


End file.
